‘We Haven’t Even Started’

Today’s White House briefing shows that, despite some impressive stonewalling, there’s no slackening in the hunger of the White House press corps for the Karl Rove leak investigation.

Scott McClellan started at 12:44, a few minutes late as usual, and promptly launched into his introductory remarks, which were promptly ignored by just about everyone in the room. He probably could deliver the remarks in pig latin and most of the room wouldn’t even notice. You can tell how widely these comments are ignored by the fact that most of the TV reporters don’t even come into the room for them.

AP’s Terry Hunt, as is customary, began the conference with a question on the President’s confidence in Rove and why he didn’t say anything at this morning’s cabinet meeting. McClellan’s evasive answer about how the President didn’t express confidence because no one had asked him this morning didn’t sit well. Hunt followed-up by saying that the President didn’t normally find himself constrained by the questions asked in saying whatever he wanted.

LAT’s Ed Chen jumped in and cited the President’s spirited defense of Alberto Gonzales last week but McClellan cut him off and called on NBC’s David Gregory, who then asked the same question. A joking charge of “Plagiarism!” echoed from the back benches.

Gregory, who on Monday called McClellan’s position “ridiculous,” launched into another attack, explaining that had a previous administration used the same line Republicans would have attacked it as “legalistic and sleazy.” He continued, “You’re parsing words and you have been for a couple of days.”

Back and forth they went, with other reporters chiming in in turn. McClellan never gave an inch. “It’s a dodge,” one reporter accused, as McClellan again cited the ongoing investigation.

McClellan said he wouldn’t add anything to his comments from previous days and he felt that he’d “exhausted” the topic. “We haven’t even started,” one reporter snapped back. “We haven’t even scratched the surface,” another spat.

April “Mischevious” Ryan of American Urban Radio got nowhere with a different line of attack and then McClellan tacked to safe harbor with a question about the London bombing and homeland security.

Les Kinsolving asked about a Washington Times editorial cartoon today depicting White House correspondents as sharks, and McClellan initially demurred before realizing he had a good line and doubled back: It might not be visible, but I’ve had a little flesh taken out of me the last couple of days, he said. Laughs.

Other questions meandering around foreign policy, social security, and other topics before someone again raised Rove. Three more questions, nothing. When McClellan tried to dodge around a question from ABC’s Jessica Yellin by saying he’d already covered this ground before, she said, “You haven’t been explicit.”

And indeed if there’s one thing McClellan hasn’t been in the last three days, it’s explicit. By the time Scott knocked down the second pass at the Rove questions, Gregory and CBS’ John Roberts got up and left. Again, today would offer little in the way of a new story despite 30 minutes of questioning.

Tomorrow’s another big day.

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